Aavishkaar invests in B2R Technologies, a Rural BPO

Microfinance Focus, Feb 23, 2010: Microfinance venture capital fund Aavishkaar will invest an unspecified amount in B2R Technologies, a rural BPO, said a statement.

B2R Technologies has clusters of rural BPO delivery centers in a hub-and-spoke arrangement to provide business support services to domestic and international clients. The plan to scale-up to create up to one hundred such 50 seats delivery centers in seven years is now set to take off, with investment from Aavishkaar Micro Capital Venture Fund, a social venture fund, which focuses on social micro enterprises.

Vineet Rai, CEO, Aavishkaar, says “Such projects offer an opportunity to bring together the economic and social development objectives and create a financially inclusive enterprise”. The investment firm closed several such deals in 2009 and continues to make investments in socially relevant projects

The first delivery center is currently operational at Orakhan in village Simayal, near Mukteswar, Uttarakhand, and has 34 team members, all belonging to villages in the vicinity. With a well-designed training curriculum it reached accuracy levels of 99.95% — moving up the value chain in services is planned with ongoing training being a key enabler.

Venki Iyer, co-founder, B2R, says “Considering cost pressures due to rising real estate prices & staff salaries as well as high attrition, there was a clear need to address many of the challenges faced in the urban context in an innovative manner”.

Underlining the fact that the beautiful hills of Uttarakhand had a lot more to offer than trekking & tourist holiday locales, Dhiraj Dolwani, co-founder & CEO of B2R says “Literacy in the state at about 72% is significantly better than the national average; however what has been an eye-opener and the cornerstone for success is the sincerity & tremendous zeal to learn that the youth have demonstrated”. Partnering with CHIRAG, a well-established NGO in the region, has helped B2R establish quickly & connect into the villages for the recruitment of staff.

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